


Wrapping Paper

by nausicaa_of_phaeacia



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Birthday, F/M, Gen, Romance, Season 06
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-21
Updated: 2013-12-21
Packaged: 2018-01-05 10:40:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1092919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nausicaa_of_phaeacia/pseuds/nausicaa_of_phaeacia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Buffy's return from the dead, Tara is determined to help her find herself again. Buffy realizes a few things and wants to make up for some of her mistakes.<br/>(The very last bit was inspired by a short story by Anna Gavalda.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a slightly silly idea I had. Un-betaed, as always.  
> I own only what came out of my own head ;)  
> Not my best work, but I hope you still like it!

The hug had brought her back to life. Obviously, not a single thing was going to be the same as before; but the love she had received from him had adjusted quite a few things inside her. She knew she still had a long way to go until she'd really resemble herself again, but she sensed that the beginning of that process had already taken place.

Seeing the irritation and, yes, fear in her friends' eyes gradually made her very sensitive as to her attitude towards them, and with time, she observed that her actions and words were getting more and more similar to the Buffy she had once been. It was hard to control her emotions around the clock, and certainly, she slipped up more than once, scaring her friends or even Dawn away by acting towards them as she probably should only have towards unfriendly strangers. 

After weeks of struggling to find herself again and to find out what exactly being the Buffy that the others loved encompassed exactly, she woke from her restless sleep to pebbles being tossed against her bedroom window. Immediately in Slayer mode, she rushed to the window, crossbow in hand, ready to shout at the intruder, but only to find a flustered but smiling Tara on the lawn. Before she could say anything, let alone make her leave by a very unattractive night-time version of speaking before thinking, the witch whispered, "Come down, I've got something for you." Surprised, Buffy crept down the stairs, leaving the crossbow at their bottom after a moment of consideration. It was Tara, for God's sake. What had she been thinking?

With some effort, Buffy smiled at the girl, half-opening the door. Beaming, Tara rummaged through her bulky handbag, then shyly handed the Slayer a blue glass orb. "... Thank you?," Buffy asked more than commented. "W-What is it?" Tara blushed slightly. "It's, well... it's a-an orb, um, yes, it obviously is... I-I put a spell on it. A ... It's a memory spell. I suggested the idea to Willow, but she thought you wouldn't like it. But I ... You know, Buffy, I-I think if it was me who were in your s-situation, I'd want it very badly. Y-You've obviously been having a hard time returning to the life y-you left here, and... This might help. D-Don't tell Willow, please... Oh, here-" She rummaged in her bag once more and produced a handwritten piece of paper. "It's actually quite s-simple... You light a candle, then you r-read these words, and put both your hands on the orb... It's going to let you relive some moments of your - um - your previous life. I m-might have missed some, it's the first time I've ever t-tried this spell... But it should show you some of the m-most important things and... and... maybe it's going to help you, you know... Reconnect. R-Remember." The witch suddenly realized she had spoken for quite some time and blushed even more than she had before, provoking Buffy to smile a smile of the very genuine sort. "Thank you so much, Tara," she whispered, suddenly hugging the witch very tightly. "It means a lot. Thank you." Tara smiled shyly. "I-I really hope it helps. You are still the same p-person, but... I thought maybe it could do you some good to s-see some things again." Buffy smiled. "You're an incredible witch." Her friend tugged back a strand of hair, and after another shy smile, she briefly raised her hand, whispering, "Good night," and turning around very swiftly to leave Buffy standing in her doorway.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (As always, I own only what was obviously my idea. ;) )

More than a little surprised, Buffy went back into her room, determined to try the spell right away. The crossbow was entirely forgotten; Dawn would almost trip over it in the morning. Sitting on the floor, the Slayer lit a small candle on a plate and recited the beautifully written words. They were in Latin, and she didn't understand a single one among them, but Tara had been so enthusiastic about the whole thing... Before she could think about it any more, some kind of vision seized her, making the room around her black out completely. First came the hug she had shared with Giles only a few days ago; seeing what had happened not from her own point of view, but from outside, she got a closer look at her Watcher's face; his expression shattered her to the core. Only in this moment did she even begin to imagine what her death must have meant to him. 

All out of order, she saw memory after memory, good and bad. Giles kneeling in front of her tombstone during the nightmare spell; Giles saving her from Amy's mother; Xander, Willow and her sitting on a couch at the Bronze; Angel dancing with her at the prom; her sitting on the floor next to scared, unshaven Giles, telling him not to be sorry; kissing Angel; Dawn hugging her very tightly; Thanksgiving dinner with Spike tied up at the table; her telling Giles the Council had been very smart to choose his green card as blackmail, and the almost-smile he gave at that; Giles in a sombrero; her touching Faith' forehead at the hospital; stabbing Angel; movie night in the Summers household; Xander showing her the turquoise cabrio, grinning; her mother surprising her with a chocolate birthday cake; hugging Giles in front of the factory; ice-skating with her father; blowing up the school; Willow levitating a pencil in the park; researching with Xander; recognizing her Watcher's eyes when he'd been turned into a Fyarl; board games with Anya; dancing with Faith at the Bronze; Thanksgiving dinner; teasing Wesley in front of Giles; Christmas snow in Sunnydale; Miss Calendar smiling at her Watcher; the look on Giles' face when they had knocked at his door after she had returned -

Her head was spinning. It took her a moment to realize why the images had stopped - the small candle had burned down completely and therefore gone out. She felt completely drained, and very, very confused. Most of the things she had seen had been good memories, but some hadn't, and the sheer amount of things Tara had just shown her confused her so much that she didn't know which ones to think about first. Deep in thought, she went to bed, not sure if she should be sulking or not. Sleeping was completely out of the question; reliving those moments, however short they had been, had provoked an army of emotions within her. She felt she was about to understand some things she had never realized before, but kept fighting her thoughts as they scared her. She woke to Dawn's frantic knocking at her bedroom door, having worried her by not responding for minutes. She must have dozed off.

The following nights, Buffy repeated the spell, knowing that this was something she had to pull through. The moments she had seen were repeated, but there were some every evening that were new. She knew she was neglecting patrol, but had told the others there was something she had to figure out. Spike had instantly volunteered to keep an eye out for demonic activities. Reseeing her memories again and again, she realized how much she valued and loved her friends, and how much of a sister Dawn was to her. But the more often she did the spell, the clearer one person stood out from it all: her Watcher. Certainly, to protect her was exactly his job, but after nights and nights of remembering, it became clear to Buffy just how much more he was to her than just her appointed Watcher. He was her friend - and she had neglected him, hurt him more than anyone else, whereas he had gone out of his way to always be there for her. Even without the orb now, she was able to imagine some moments so vividly that she had to close her eyes against the pain some of those gave her. She knew she had to make up for her mistakes, had to change, had to become more similar to her former self again, and yet, become someone better than that, become a better person than the current, but also than the former Buffy. What she didn't know was how to accomplish that. 

After more nights of reciting the spell and musing over her past, she had an idea. She remembered Giles' birthday was in November, so she frantically searched for her mother's calendar. Joyce had meticulously entered the birthdays of all her friends and acquaintances into a small pocket book; surely, Giles' birthday had to be among them. She was right: November 21th - two days left. Maybe a small party could set some things right. She knew she couldn't make her past mistakes disappear, but maybe a gesture of this kind could mark a new beginning. The following morning, she let a very excited Dawn in on her plan. It was going to be a surprise party, a very relaxed one nonetheless. Dawn immediately volunteered to bake the birthday cake, and Buffy smilingly agreed. It felt good to have her sister as a partner-in-crime. Later that day, after hours of looking for the right recipe, baking and decorating the cake, she talked to Willow. Her friend, too, was more than just a little excited at the idea. They agreed that Willow would share Buffy's plan with the others and take care of luring Giles out of his flat so it could be decorated. Tara would be asked to conjure a harmless demon at the Summers house so that the Watcher could be called to an emergency. Meanwhile, Xander and Anya would turn Giles' place into a cozy birthday party location, Spike had promised to take care of a decent choice of music, and Dawn and Buffy would take care of food and drinks, and deliver the cake, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! :) One more chapter to go.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter, a little longer this time... written in one go, as always. Hope you like it :)

Everything went according to plan the next day, a nervous Giles hurrying over to Revello Drive with an armful of demon encyclopedias, involving Tara and Willow, who had spent the morning getting a present for the Watcher, in a hasty research process and putting the demon under a spell that held him in place, as a security measure. Neither of the witches let anything slip; they only exchanged a single moment of silent cooperation, smiling at each other and briefly joining hands under Willow's desk. 

In the evening, after Giles succesfully banished the demon back into his dimension with the help of Willow and Tara, they walked him home out of what he thought was just friendly courtesy. When he opened the door, about to bid the two witches good-night, he froze on the doorstep, a variety of emotions reflected in his expression. For a moment, he was sure that he wasn't going to be able to hold back his tears, but when Dawn stormed over to him to hug him, the unrestrained smile he couldn't help giving her distracted him. They had all come, and each one of them hugged him - even the vampire. They had set up his dining table beautifully; it was full of various courses and desserts, a beautiful birthday cake throning in its center. Xander opened a bottle of champagne, and they all toasted in his honour. Never before had they cared to make such an event out of his birthday; shy congratulations and the occasional small present had been the most eventful he'd had in the past few years. 

They had a lot of fun over dinner; jokes and stories were told and laughter predominated their conversations. Giles was completely floored when he found out that Tara had invoked the demon all by herself as part of the plan, but even more surprised when Xander told him in a proud voice, that everything about this day, every single thing, had been Buffy's idea. He glanced at her over the table, and she shyly smiled at him. She sensed that he had understood that there was more to it than just throwing her old Watcher a party, but since she, herself, hadn't figured out exactly what there was behind it, she couldn't guess his thoughts. After enjoying Dawn's delicious cake, each guest gave Giles a small present - nothing unusual, just symbolic little gifts they all knew he was going to like. Another round of birthday champagne later, they felt it was right to leave. Buffy announced she was going to stay and do the dishes - to make up for her last Thanksgiving plan where Giles had been stuck with the clean up, for one, and secondly, because it _had_ been her idea to throw the party. Both her arguments were commonly accepted, Giles smiling crookedly as he remembered the Thanksgiving they all had shared. 

While Buffy cleaned the table - she had absolutely forbidden Giles to help her even in the slightest - he carried his presents upstairs, and she heard him take a shower. It took her a while to take care of all the dishes and leftovers, and to clear the living room of party utensils. It got very late, and when Giles came down in a bulky, but fluffy dressing gown over his pyjamas, she shyly asked him if she could spend the night on his couch. He immediately agreed, helping her turn it into a cozy place to sleep on. Handing her a woolen blanket, he thanked her again. "Buffy ... I-I don't know why exactly you did this, but ... Thank you. With all my heart. I must say it was o-one of the most wonderful days I've spent in ... in all my life." She beamed and caught his careful smile. "You're welcome, Giles." She couldn't tell him why she had felt it had been the right thing to do, but hugged him instead. He was caught by surprise, but hugged her back before he took to the stairs, smiling. "Good night, Buffy."

After hours of tossing and turning, Buffy sat up on the couch to perform the spell again. She had carried the orb in her cardigan pocket the whole day; the words, she had learned by heart long before. In the light of a birthday candle stump, the images fleeted past her much faster than they had the first time; she had found she was actually able to influence what she saw, and had found herself lingering at the memories she had shared with Giles. He had sacrificed so much for her, shown her much more love than he had ever been asked her to. The worry in his eyes as he had taken care of her after the Cruciamentum; the disbelief and impossible joy in his eyes after having regained his human form, standing in front of Ethan's mirror in that horrible shirt. The almost imperceptible smile he had given her after she had told him that she had recognized him by his eyes. 

The candlelight had gone out again. Buffy sighed, hoping that she was going to be able to change... really change. As she rewatched some of what she had just seen before her inner eye, realization hit her. On a whim - and God, how she hoped it was the right thing to do - she fetched some of the wrapping paper they had used from the paper basket under Giles's desk, then shed all her clothes, wrapping herself in the colourful pieces of paper, fastening them around her naked form with used tape and ribbons. She managed to produce something that resembled a patchwork dress; good thing Anya had used so much paper. Her heart beating in her throat, she crept up the stairs. She paused in front of his door; now was the last moment to reconsider, but her heart didn't stop beating as if it were a matter of life and death, and she impulsively decided to listen to it. Very carefully, she opened the door - his room was completely dark, as was the rest of the house. "Giles?," she whispered. He had heard her before; now he turned around to face her, also whispering. "Buffy, are you alright? I thought I had heard you recite something in Latin ... did you perform a memory sp-"

He had turned on his bedside lamp; the sight of Buffy, wrapped completely in cheerfully patterned paper, adorned with ribbons, and apparently naked underneath, took his breath away. She was beautiful, as she always had been; but the mere thought that she could possibly want him, creeping up in his chest, petrified him. He had always loved her, but kept it within the barriers of a father's, a friend's love. More than once had he sensed that he actually felt more for her than he had let on, but always made sure to lock those emotions away, very far away. She still held onto the doorknob, curling her toes on the cold floor, not sure what to do. After a moment of locking gazes with him, she blushed and concentrated on the bedside lamp. Suddenly, she wasn't sure of this anymore; embarrassment had gotten a hold of her. "Giles," she whispered, "I-I'm sor-"

"Come here," he croaked, his voice full of inexplicable emotion. Very shyly, she moved over to him and sat down on the edge of his bed, looking away. Trembling slightly, he reached over to take her hand. She flinched, but didn't remove her fingers from under his. Her heart was beating faster than it had ever before, even during fights that had been a matter of life and death. After a moment of their hands joined, she understood that his was beating equally fast. Surprised, she turned her head to look at him and saw in his eyes what she would never have expected. Suddenly, she had to smile, making him mirror her in the most beautiful, genuine smile she had ever received from him. "You love me?," he whispered, wishing he could take it back the very next moment. Tears in her eyes, she nodded very quickly. At that, he couldn't hold back any longer; he threw his arms around her, holding her tight, laughing. She chimed in immediately; as she felt a few of his stray tears drop onto her bare shoulders, he whispered again, "I love you too, Buffy. So much."

She released herself from his arms to look him in the eye. Both still in disbelief, but utter joy written onto their faces, their lips moved closer and closer, until they finally touched in a kiss so tender that Buffy found herself convinced this must indeed have been the right thing to do, feeling Giles smile against her lips. Looking at him again, she shot him a beaming smile as she felt him tug at the various ribbons she had tied around herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! :)  
> Please leave comments/kudos/suggestions/constructive criticism! I'm thankful for everything :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! :)  
> Tell me what you think - it's going to make my day!


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